Northampton drug dealer, 61, ordered to pay back £76,000

Alice Dyer

A 61-year-old cannabis dealer from Northampton has been ordered to pay back more than £76,000

Gossit Brown, of Yelvertoft Road, Northampton, was ordered to pay back the money that he had obtained through his criminal lifestyle as a drug dealer.

We will robustly pursue criminals not only in terms of the criminal acts they conduct but also the criminal assets they obtain from their illegal behaviour

Rankin McCarrick

At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing earlier this month Brown, 61, was told he would have to pay back a total of £76,254.

Recorder Mr J Wigoder ordered at the confiscation hearing on Monday, March 16 that Brown had to pay the sum back within six months or face 18 months imprisonment.

Brown was originally arrested in January 2013, when officers carried out a search warrant at his home, where they seized nearly one kilo of cannabis and £1,390 in cash in a tin under the bed.

In February 2013, at Northampton Crown Court, he was convicted of possession of cannabis with intent to supply. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years and was required to attend a four month non-residential drug rehabilitation course.

Earlier this month the judge ruled that the large quantity of cash Brown had and his lifestyle could not be explained through legitimate income, which at the time was incapacity benefit.

Mr Rankin McCarrick, lead financial investigator, said: “We will robustly pursue criminals not only in terms of the criminal acts they conduct but also the criminal assets they obtain from their illegal behaviour.

“This ensures they do not benefit in any way from their crimes.”

Money obtained through confiscation is invested back into the community